- Aug 10, 2006
- 16,986
- 4,369
- 75
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV)
So many people today are cutting the gospel message short, and they are reducing it to a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or to a mere acknowledgment of what Jesus did in dying on that cross to save us from our sins, and an acknowledgment of his resurrection from the dead. And they are limiting faith in Christ to a once-in-a-lifetime decision to receive Jesus Christ into your heart whereby you are now forgiven of all sins and you are guaranteed heaven as your eternal destiny. But is that true?
Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
Yet so many are limiting the grace of God to forgiveness of all sins and to the overlooking of all future sins, and to the guarantee of heaven when you die, but regardless of how you live on this earth. But is that Biblical grace?
The Scriptures teach us that the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
[Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 3:23-25; Romans 5:1-2; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 6:24; Hebrews 10:26-31; Hebrews 12:12-17; 1 Peter 2:24]
So many people today have this false notion that their salvation from sin is merely forgiveness of all sins so that they will no longer face God’s wrath and so that heaven will be guaranteed them when they die. However…
By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).
There is way more to the message of the gospel of our salvation than what the majority in the USA are telling the people. We are not saved from our sins just so we can escape the wrath of God and go to heaven when we die. And we are definitely not saved from our sins with the intention to keep walking in deliberate and habitual disobedience to God’s commandments, in sin, and that God’s grace will cover it all, and that heaven will still be secured us upon death, since we “prayed the prayer to receive Christ.”
Read all the above and below Scriptures referenced in this writing, and you will learn to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love, of his salvation, of his gospel message, and all that he intends for us as his followers (his disciples), that we will live holy lives, pleasing to him, that sin should no longer be what we practice, but that obedience to our Lord and to his commands must now be our practice. For Jesus put our sins to death with him so we will die to sin and live for him.
For our faith in Jesus Christ should be that which is from God, which is persuaded of God, which is gifted to us by God, and which is aligned with God’s will and purpose for our lives. For biblical faith requires that we die with Christ to sin and that we now walk with God in obedience to his commands, and that sin and disobedience should no longer be what we practice. For if sin and disobedience to God are what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we will face the wrath of God, instead.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
To Know Christ’s Love
An Original Work / June 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
